Teresa O’Halloran and Kathleen Mullane, of the Lourdes fundraising group, donating to Patrice Hayes and Clodagh Ahern before they leave for Lourdes as Youth Helpers with the Limerick Diocese
Corpus Christi Procession
Following 7.30pm mass on Saturday June 8th, our local clergy carrying the Monstrance and consecrated Eucharist together with the Holy Communion & Confirmation Children will process down Con Colbert Street to Con Colbert Memorial Hall.
Traditionally, the route of the procession is decorated with flowers and altars as a sign of respect and reverence for the Blessed Sacrament.
Our members of clergy and the Pastoral Council are asking residents and businesses along the route to decorate their home, shop, office and business fronts. Your assistance will greatly enhance the route and allow for the devotional participation of all those in the procession.
A warm welcome is extended to everyone to join the Holy Mass and Procession.
You are invited to join us for some light refreshments at the Con Colbert Memorial Hall following the procession. Anyone wishing to donate baked goods for the occasion are asked to text 087 2237858
Renewing Search for Jack Keane
Following a recent meeting, a further attempt to find Jack Keane, who has been missing for the past three years, will be undertaken on June 15th. Meeting at the Hall at 9.30am and making way to the water tower for 10.00am. The organisers are appealing to anyone who can spare a few hours to come along and help.
Some of the winners at the Community Games in Athea last weekend.
More photos in Sports
The Way I See It
By Domhnall de Barra
The weekend before last had some great sport on TV dominated by the hurling championship. There were some fantastic matches and I think there is no doubt that hurling is the best field game in the world. It has skill, athleticism, stamina, sportsmanship and a professionalism that could rival any of the big soccer clubs. The players are amateur in name only and devote the best of their years to training and playing a game that is loved by supporters in all counties. The game is fast flowing with scores on a regular basis and the result is usually in doubt until the final whistle. It is such a pity that many of these games can be seen only on GAA Go. There is a large number of elderly people in particular who cannot get GAA Go and depend on the normal channels for their sport. I appreciate that the GAA have to make money but they also have a duty to cater for people who may have played the game in their young days and were regular attendees at matches until they could no longer do so. Anyway it was great to see such competition. Fast forward to this week and we had the football and it was like chalk and cheese. The game of Gaelic football has been totally ruined by coaching that mimics the moves in soccer matches. There is also too much hand passing with the ball rarely being kicked. The emphasis is on preventing opponents from scoring by retaining possession at all costs. When one team attacks the other side all retreat to their own half and a kind of stalemate develops until a player has a shot at goal, loses possession or gets a free kick. It is now the most boring game to watch with long passages of hand passing back and forth across the pitch. There is a lot of fouling also, much of which goes unpunished by referees. To be fair to them, if they blew for every foul it would be stop/start all day. In days gone by players lined out in their positions as backs, half backs, mid-fielders, half forwards and full forwards. They stayed around the same part of the pitch for the whole match marking and being marked by their opponents on the other side. Kick-outs were to the four midfielders who vied with each other to catch the ball in the air. When they got possession they booted the ball towards the goals and the tussle of backs and forwards began. High fielding was one of the great skills and I am lucky that I was around to see players like the great Mick O’Connell in action. Now, the number on the jersey means nothing. A corner back can turn up in the opposing square as often as he is back in defence. I watched the game between Kerry and Meath and it was so bad I turned away from it at half time. If something is not done about the game it will no longer attract the attendances it has enjoyed up to now. People will vote with their feet and it is hard to blame them. Since I am talking about mediocrity, I must mention the game between Ireland’s women’s soccer team and Sweden. The team did the nation proud by qualifying for the last world cup and despite not getting out of their group they gave a really good account of themselves. This was in no small way due to their manager Vera Pough. She got them to a stage where they were very difficult to break down and they held their own against the best in the world. The game, however, is about scoring goals and they were in short supply. Vera Pough was badly treated by her bosses and players alike and she lost her job. Her work was only half done and, having got the defence sorted, she should have been allowed to work on the forwards. Eileen Gleeson got the job after Ireland played a few matches against second rate opposition but when they came up against the top teams the cracks began to appear. A bit like our men’s team, they are short on skill, especially accuracy in passing, and they don’t seem to have a master plan. They have developed a huge following and I hope they can find a way to get the ball into the net. That, after all, is what the game is all about.
I was a bit surprised to hear on the radio the other morning that farmers in Australia are digging up grape vines because there is a glut of wine in the country and the bottom has fallen out of the market. Much of this is due to the fact that, after a dispute, China put high tariffs on Australian exports to their country. It was their biggest market and now they have lakes of wine they can’t sell. That wasn’t really what surprised me. It was the news that wine consumption around the globe has dropped considerably in the last few years. I would have thought the opposite was the case, especially since Covid when drinking at home became more popular, but no, younger generations are not taking to the bottle like we did. I remember a time, not all that long ago, when wine drinking wasn’t very popular in Ireland. You might have a glass at a wedding or some big do and then the choice was very limited with poor quality, but wine drinking regularly was un heard of. It became very popular around the turn of the century as supermarkets provided a good choice from around the world at very reasonable prices. The government then put a price limitation on the product which made wine much more expensive so I suppose it is not really surprising that consumption is down. I have to admit to having a “grá” for a drop of red wine with my dinner and I am told that a glass or two is actually good for the health. I hope that is true because
Church Notices
St Bartholomew’s Church, Athea
Parish Pastoral Unit (Athea/ Abbeyfeale/ Mountcollins/ Templeglantine/ Tournafulla).
Canon Tony Mullins 087 2600414, Fr. Willie Russell 087 2272825, Fr. Denis Mullane 087 2621911.
Masses this week- Tuesday morning 9.15am and Friday evening 7pm.
Eucharistic Adoration and The Devine Mercy Chaplet on Tuesday morning after mass.
Mass Intentions: Fri June 7th 7pm: Penny Woulfe & Paddy Enright. Sat June 8th 7.30pm:
Michael Haslam. All masses are streamed live on https://www.churchservices.tv/athea
Baptisms take place on the fourth weekend of the month. The next baptismal preparation meeting takes place in the sacristy Templeglantine on Tuesday evening June 11th at 8pm.
Parents who wish to baptise their child in the next few months should contact Siobhan on
087-3331459 for further details.
The annual Corpus Christi Procession through the village will take place after mass next Sat June 8th. We invite this year’s Confirmation class and the First Holy Communion children to join us. There will be a cuppa in the hall afterwards and if anyone would like to donate buns/cakes etc-
the hall will be opened from 6.30 pm onwards. Anyone that can help on the night, please text Siobhan on 087-3331459. During our mass on Saturday evening, we will also have the Crowning of Our Blessed Lady by the First Holy Communion children and if they wish to wear their communion dresses and suits again -they are most welcome.
Parish Administration: Tues-Fri 11am-1pm. call Siobhan on 087-3331459, outside these hours text or email [email protected]
hours text or email [email protected]
Athea Community Council Lucky Numbers Draw
03/06/2024
No’s Drawn: 4, 7, 9, 15. No Winner
Lucky Dips
Sinéad Brouder, Gale View
Eileen Brouder, Reen’s Pike
Ml. O’Connor, c/o Collins’ Shop
John Scanlon, Upper Athea
Sellers Prize: Collins’ Shop & Lal Browne
Next Draw: 10/06/’24 Venue: White’s
Jackpot €21,100